A girl of 15 was killed and a woman seriously injured after plunging 100 feet down cliffs today.

A girl of 15 was killed and a woman seriously injured after plunging 100 feet down cliffs today.

The North East youngster was on holiday when the tragedy happened in the early hours of this morning. A 30-year-old woman survived the fall.

She was taken to hospital where she was operated on for serious injuries to her legs.

A massive rescue operation was launched to save the stricken pair after the alarm was raised.

Police said the pair were from the North East, but they were contacting family and friends before releasing any further details.

The accident happened near the Blue Dolphin Holiday Park in Filey, North Yorkshire.

Police said rescuers from the Coastguard service used ropes to climb down the cliffs and found the girl's body alongside the injured woman.

It is understood they were part of a party of four who had gone for a walk along a cliff-top path near the holiday park.

The Coastguard was alerted to the fall at Gristhorpe cliffs at 12.40am.

An ambulance paramedic was winched down the cliff face by the helicopter to treat the woman, before she was taken to hospital where she has been operated on for serious injuries.

North Yorkshire Police press officer, Tony Lidgate, said: "RAF Leconfield assisted by transferring ambulance and lifeboat personnel and police officers to the scene, evacuating the casualty and recovering the body."

The helicopter was on the scene for over two hours and the lifeboats were still in place at 9am this morning.

Lifeboat press officer, Steve Forster, said: "We were called at 1am but both boats were still there eight hours later because of there being a sudden death we had to secure the scene until police could investigate."

Mike Green from Humber coast guard, said: "It is very easy to accidentally slip, so people should always ensure they have lighting if they are going to do this. People should be aware of the dangers."